Staff writer
The bridge on Old Mill Rd. at Marion Reservoir has been closed since November, but warmer weather has eased the pace of the project.
“Once the cold snaps stopped hitting, it made it a lot easier,” said Kevin McCoy, Marion Reservoir’s assistant lake manager.
The original timeline for the project was 1½ years, but judging progress since then has been difficult, he said.
“You really can’t speculate whether it’s going to be longer or shorter,” McCoy said. “It depends on how things go and weather permitting. At the very least, we’re going to be closed another year and change.”
Since the project to replace it started, there has been a quartet of cranes working to deconstruct the bridge.
Using cranes lessens the risks of demolition, like debris falling into the water, or harming the dam’s gates, McCoy said.
“We’re not really demolishing anything,” he said. “We’re strategically taking it apart piece by piece.”
In addition to closing the road, the buffer leading to the inlet channel has been widened, preventing those on the lake from getting too close, McCoy said.
“We definitely have buffers for public health and safety that the public needs to abide by,” he said.